Locomotive gathering mechanism



Oct. 9, 1934. V E s w ET AL 7 1,976,516

LOCOMOTIVE GATHERING MECHANI SM Filed Nov. 11, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet lW/7/VE555 INVENTORS. Q .DaV/c/zffFens/vaw and /arenc flF/we/l.

I i (4 1/ I D ATT NEY Oct. 9, 1934. D. E. RENSHAW ET AL LOCOMOTIVEGATHERING MECHANISM Filed Nov 11, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet NW ON D. E.RENSHAW ET AL 1, 76,516

LOCOMOTIVE GATHERING MECHANISM Filed Nov. 11, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3WITNESSES! INVENTQRS.

avia 1 Ernshaw 2 g j r) cbreneeflflfwe/l I 7 ATTO EY Patented Oct. 91934 UNETED STATES PATNT GE'FICE.

LOCOMOTIVE GATHERING MECHANISM Application November 11, 1931, Serial No.574,290

14 Claims.

Our invention relates generally to electric locomotives and it hasparticularly relation to mining locomotives provided withconductor-cablegathering reels.

The object of our invention, generally stated, is the provision of aconductor-cable-gathering mechanism for mining locomotives that shall besimple and efficient in operation and readily and economicallymanufactured and used.

It- A more specific object of our invention is to provide forautomatically maintaining predetermined tension on two conductor cableswhile the locomotive, to which they are supplying electric current froma power source, is moved 15 toward and away from the power source.

Other objects of our invention will, in part, be obvious and, in part,appear hereinafter.

Our invention, accordingly, is disclosed in the embodiment hereof shownin the accompanying drawings, and comprises the features ofconstruction, combination of elements and arrangement of parts whichwill be exemplified in the construction hereinafter set forth, and thescope of the application of which will be indicated in the appendedclaims.

For a more complete understanding of the nature and scope of ourinvention, reference may be had to the following detailed description,taken in connection with the accompanying 3O drawings, in which Figure lisa top plan view of an electric locomotive provided with an automaticcable-reeling mechanism constructed in accordance with this invention;

Fig. 2 is a view, in side elevation, of the locomotive shown in Fig. 1;

Fig; 3 is a vertical sectional view of the automatic cable-reelingmechanism; and

Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic View of the motors 40 and control system for anelectric'locomotive shown in connection with the automatic reelingmechanism.

Referring now to the drawings, electric motors l of any suitable typemay be employed for driving a locomotive whose frame is shown generallyat 2. A controller 3, of any suitable type, is mounted on one end of thelocomotive frame 2 for controlling the operation of the locomotive. Theillustrated locomotive, is particularly 5O suited for hauling cars fromthe interior of a mine to a point where they may be readily takenoutside. Electric power for propelling a locomotive along the main entryof a mine is usually supplied from an overhead conductor, and a groundreturnconductor for which the track, on which the locomotive runs, isused. In this part of the mine, the ventilation is usually satisfactoryand there is little danger of an explosion of accumulated gas caused bythe usual sparking between the current-collect- 66 ing apparatus on thelocomotive and the electrical conductors.

In order to collect the current from the overhead conductor, a trolleypole 4 and a trolley wheel 5, of any suitable construction, are mountedon the locomotive, as illustrated. The return connection to the track 6is completed through the locomotive frame 2 and the drive wheels 7 inthe usual manner.

When it is desired to use the locomotive for '20 hauling cars out ofside entries, located along the main entry and in which a poorly bondedtrack may have been laid and it is undesirable to use an overheadconductor, it is necessary to use a separate circuit for supplyingcurrent for propelling the locomotive rather than the circuit includingthe trolley wheel 5 and the ground return through the wheels '7 to thetrack 6. Furthermore, it is apparent that there is greater danger of. anexplosion of accumulated gas in one of the side entries than in the mainentry, since the former are usually poorly Ventilated because of theirlimited use.

With a view to supplying electric power for operating the locomotive inside entries in which it is not feasible to employ the usualcurrentcollecting devices, two conductor cables 8 and 9 are providedwhich may be connected respectively to the overhead conductor and to thetrack at the main entry and secured at the other end to a pair of cablewinding reels 10 and 11. As will be observed, the cable 8 is shown bybroken lines in the full reeled position and by full lines in theunwound position while the cable 9 is shown by full lines in the fullreeled position and by broken lines in the unreeled position.

While the locomotive is moving into and out of a side entry, it isdesirable to maintain the cables 8 and 9 at a predetermined tension inorder to prevent their becoming tangled with the locomotive. It is alsodesirable to provide for rotating the reel corresponding to each cableat a rate in accordance with the tension applied to the cable attached.thereto. The importance of this feature will be apparent when it isconsidered that one of the cables may be elongated more than the other;that they may not be attached to their respective conductors at the mainentry at corresponding positions; and that electrical apparatus of thistype.

they may not be wound upon the winding reels at exactly the same rate.

In order to provide for independently winding and unwinding the cables 8and 9, an explosionproof motor having both a rotatable frame 14 and arotatable armature 17, is utilized. The reel is mounted directly on therotatable motor frame 14, which is provided with a plurality ofinwardly-extending polar projections 15 that are disposed to beenergized by means of a plurality of field windings 16 in the usualmanner. The reel 11 is attached directly to the rotatable armature 1'?which is located, as shown, the rotatable motor frame 14. As will bereadily understood, the reels 10 and 11 will be rotated in oppositedirections when electric power is applied to the field coils 16 and tothe armature 1'7. When the locomotive is moving into the mine, the reels10 and 11 will be rotated against the torque developed by theinteraction of the current in the armature 17 and the produced by thefield windings 16, while this same torque will cause the reels 10 and 11to rotate in a cable-winding direction when the locomotive is moving outof the mine.

It will be noted that all of the parts that are disposed to rotate withthe reel 10, and which are shown in section, are cross-hatched in amanner identical with the cross-hatching of the reel 10, while all ofthe parts that are disposed to rotate with the reel 11 are shown in asimilar manner by means of a different cross-hatching. Furthermore, inorder to simplify the drawings as much as possible only two of the fieldpoles, each comprising a polar projection 15 and a field winding 16,have been illustrated although it is to be understood that the severalfield coils may be connected together in the usual manner.

The motor frame 14 is rotatably mounted on a suitable base 18 which isprovided with a hollow stub shaft 19 at its center and a grooved bearingrace 20 near its outside edge. A ball bearing 21 is provided around thestub shaft, for maintaining the motor frame in axial alignmenttherewith, while a second ball bearing 22 is provided under the lowerpart of the motor frame 14, in the bearing race 20, to take the thrustapplied thereto while the cables 8 and 9 are being wound and unwound.

As illustrated, the armature 17, to which the upper reel 11 is attached,is provided with a hollow shaft 23, on which the customary laminatedcore 24 and armature conductors 25 are mounted. In addition, acommutator 26 is mounted on the shaft 23, together with an upperinsulated collector ring support 27 and a collector ring 28. Thecustomary brushes 29 for the commutator 26 are provided, as shown, andare mounted by means of suitable brush holders 30 on aninwardly-extending lower bearing housing 31. In the only two brusheshave been shown, although, as will be readily understood, there may beseveral sets of brushes utilized, which is a well known design featureof The armature 17 is supported at its lower end by means of a suitableroller bearing 33 which is located within the lower bearing housing 31,and is centered at its upper end by means of a ball bearing 34 which ismounted on an upper bearing housing 35. v

In order to conduct the current to the locomotive from the insulatedconductor cable 9 that is wound on the upper reel 11, the cable 9 ispassed through the reel 11 and down through the hollow shaft 23 where itis connected to the collector ring 28. A stationary brush 36 and a brushholder 37, which is mounted on a lower insulated collector-ring support33, serve to collect the current from the collector ring 28 and toconduct it to a conductor 39 which is connected to the control system ofthe locomotive. As shown, the collector-ring support 38 is constructedof a suitable insulating material and is supported by the stub shaft 19.The conductor cable 8 is brought from the lower reel 19 through themotor frame 14 to a brush holder 40 and brush 41 which is disposed toengage a stationary collector ring 42 that is also mounted, as shown, onthe lower collector ring support 38. A second conductor 43, which isalso connected to the control system of the locomotive, is connected asillustrated, to the stationary collector ring 42.

As will be more clearly set forth hereinafter, electric power foroperating the reeling apparatus is obtained from the same power sourceas that from which the locomotive receives its power. The brush 29 onthe left hand side as viewed in the drawings, is connected directly tothe brush 40 by means of conductor 44, thereby making electricalconnection to conductor 8. The other brush 29 shown in the drawings, isconnected, by means of conductor 45 to one of the field coils 16. Theother field coil, shown in the drawings, is connected by means of aconductor 47 to a brush 48, which is supported by means of a brushholder 49 that is secured to the underside of the lower bearing bracket31. The brush 48 is disposed to engage a stationary collector ring 51,which is mounted on and insulated from the lower collector ring support38 between the collector rings 42 and 28. A cable (not shown) isconnected to the collector ring 51 and serves to make suitableconnection to the control system of the locomotive.

Referring now to Fig. 4 of the drawings, the system there shown is adiagrammatic representation of an electric locomotive provided withcable gathering apparatus. For simplicity of illustration, the twowinding reels 19 and 11 are shown as being connected directly to theshaft of a motor 52; however, it will be readily understood that theupper reel 11 is directly associated with the armature 17 of the motor52 While the lower reel 10 is directly associated with the framestructure as shown in Fig. 3. In the particular system illustrated, amotor of the series connected type is used and is connected in seriescircuit relation with a resistor 53 and a switch 54 to the conductors 39and 43 which are connected to the right-hand set of terminals of atransfer switch of the double-pole, double-throw'type. The conductorcables 8 and 9, which are disposed to be Wound on the reels 10 and 11,are respectively connected tothe overhead trolley wire 56 and to thegrounded track rail 6 to which power is supplied by means of a suitablegenerator 57.

It will be observed that the center set of terminals 58 of the transferswitch is connected to the control apparatus 59 and the driving motors 1of the locomotive by means of conductors 60 and 61. If it is desired tooperate the locomotive on that portion of the track over which thetrolley conductor 55 is provided, the transfer switch 54 will be thrownto the lefthand position as viewed in the drawings in which position thepower for operating the locomotive will be supplied from the trolleyconductor 56 through the trolley wheel 5 and-con ductor 62 and throughconductor 63 to' the ground rail 6. When it is desired to operate inthat portion of the mine inwhich no trolley conductor is provided, theconductorcables 9 and 8 are connected respectively'to the trolleyconductor ,56 and to the ground rail 6 while the switch 55 is thrown tothe right-hand position and switch 54 closed. The cables 8 and 9 willthen be automatically unwound or wound up by the motor 52asthelocomotive'is moved along its track. In this instance power issupplied to the motor 52 and driving motors through conductors 39 and 43.andthe'ir associated slip-rings 28: and 51, respectively,v and theconductor cables 8and9.

In the event that it is desiredto use only one of the winding reels andits associated conductor cable, provision is made for locking therotatable frame structure 14in a stationary position. this instance astop or locking device 64 come.

prising a bifurcated member 65 securedtto the motor frame 14 and aco-operating Stationary member 66 which iswelded. to the base 18 asshown in Fig. 3, is utilized. Both of themema here 65 and 66 areprovided with'corresponding,

openings disposed to receive a locking pin 67.

' It is also necessary, when it is desired to only operate one of thewinding reels, to provide a ground connection for the motors since forexample, if the conductor cablei'8 were disconnected, there would be noreturncircuitto the generator. Accordingly, a switch 68 is provided forconnecting; conductors 44 and 69 directly to ground. However, it will beunderstood that the locking pin 6'7 will be located in the positionshown in the drawings and the switch 68 closed only when it is desiredto operate one of the reels or when, for some other reason, it isdesired .to hold the lower reel 10 stationary.

It will be readily apparent that the reels l0 and 11 may be separatelymounted on any suitable supports and that the motor 52 may also bemounted separately. Any suitable driving connection, such as gears orthe like, may be used between the motor frame 14 and the reel 10 andbetween the armature l7 and the reel 11. With this modifiedconstruction, it will be noted that the cables 8 and 9 may be wound andunwound from their respective reels 10 and 11 in the manner described.

While a locomotive of the'type described is particularly applicable foruse in mining operations, it will be readily understood that it may alsobe employed in any other application in which it is desirable to obtainpower for the operation of a locomotive in the manner set forth.

Since certain further changes may be made in the above construction anddiiferent embodiments of the invention may be made without departingfrom the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in theabove description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall beinterpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim as our invention:

1. The combination in an electric locomotive of two rotatable gatheringreels mounted on the locomotive, two conductor cables each secured atone end to one of the reels for winding thereon and each disposed to beconnected at its other end to a fixed conductor, and means comprising anelectric motor for automatically and interdependently winding andunwinding said cables in accordance with the direction in which thelocomotive is moved and maintaining the tensions applied to said cablessubstantially equal. 2. The combination in an electric locomotive, oftwo independently rotatable gathering reels mounted on the locomotive,two conductor cables each securedat one end to one of the reels forwinding thereon and each disposed to be connected at'its other end to afixed conductor, and automatic means directly connected to said reelsfor permitting them to unwind said cables when the locomotive is movedaway from 'said fixed conductors' and causing them to wind up saidcables when the locomotiveis moved toward said fixed conductors whilemaintaining interdependent te'nsion onsaid cables. 7

-3 The coinbination'with an electric locomotive, of two rotatablegathering reels mounted on theloco'motive, two conductor cables, eachsecured'at one end to one of the reels for winding thereon andconnectedat the other ends to a source of electric power, and electro dynamicmeans for maintaining predetermined tension on said cables while thelocomotive is be ng moved either away from or toward said source ofpower.

4."Ihe combination with an electric locomotive, of a-pair of gatheringreels mounted on the locomotive, a pair of conductor cables, eachsecured at one end to one of the reels for winding thereon and connectedat the other ends to a source of electric power, and electro-dynamicmeans for controlling the rate at which each reel rotates in accordancewith the rate at which the locomotiveis moved away from the source ofpower and for maintaining predetermined tension on each cable when thelocomotive is moved toward the source of power.

5. Reeling apparatus for gathering cables for an electric locomotivecomprising, in combination, a pair of rotatable gathering reels and anelectric motor for rotating said reels to maintain predetermined tensionon said cables, said motor comprising an armature disposed to rotatewith one of the reels and a field structure disposed to rotate with theother reel.

6. The combination with an electric locomotive, of a pair of rotatablegathering reels, a pair of conductor cables each secured at one end toone of said reels and connected at the other ends to a source ofelectric power, and an electric motor for rotating said reels tomaintain predetermined tension on said cables while the locomotive isbeing moved either away from or toward said source of power, said motorcomprising an armature disposed to rotate with one of the reels and a.field structure disposed to rotate with the other reel.

7. Reeling apparatus for gathering cables for an electric locomotivecomprising, in combination, a pair of gathering reels co-axially mountedone above the other, and an electric motor disposed within said reelsand co-axially therewith for rotating said reels.

8. A cable gathering apparatus for an electric locomotive comprising, incombination, a pair of gathering reels co-axially mounted one above theother on the locomotive, and an electric motor disposed within saidreels for rotating them.

9. A cable gathering mechanism for an electric locomotive comprising, incombination, two gathering reels co-axially mounted one above the otheron the locomotive, and an electric motor disposed within said reels anddirectly connected thereto for rotating said reels in oppositedirecions.

10. A cable gathering mechanism for an electric locomotive comprising,in combination, two gathering reels co-axially mounted one above theother on the locomotive, an electric motor disposed within said reelsand having driving connection therewith for rotating said reels, and alatch for preventing the rotation of one of said reels.

11. The combination with an electric locomotive of a pair of rotatablegathering reels coaxially mounted one above the other, a pair ofconductor cables each secured at one end to one of said reels andconnected at the other ends to a source of electric power, and anelectric motor disposed co-axially within said reels for rotating themto maintain predetermined tension on said cables while the locomotive isbeing moved either toward or away from said source of power, said motorcomprising an armature disposed to rotate with one of the reels and afield structure disposed to rotate with the other reel.

12. In an electric locomotive, in combination, a pair of independentlyrotatable gathering reels, a conductor cable individual to and securedtoeach reel at one end and connected at the other end to a source ofelectric power, an electric motor having positive driving connectionwith each of said reels for rotating them to maintain predeterminedtension on each of said cables while the locomotive is moved away fromor toward said source of power, and a resistor, said motor beingconnected in series circuit relation with said resistor and to thesource of power.

13. In an electric locomotive, in combination,

a plurality of circuits for obtaining current from a power source foroperating said locomotive, means for connecting said locomotive toeither of said circuits, one of said circuits comprising a pair ofconductor cables connected at one end to the power source, a pair ofindependently rotatable gathering reels each individual to one of saidconductor cables for winding said cables thereon, an electric motorhaving positive driving connection with each of said reelsifor rotatingthem to maintain predetermined tension on each of said cables while thelocomotive is moved away fromor toward said source of power, and aresistor, said motor being connected in series circuit relation withsaid resistor and to the source of power.

14. Reeling apparatus for gathering a pair of cables for an electriclocomotive comprising, in combination, a base disposed to be mounted onthe locomotive and provided with a stub shaft in the center thereof, amotor frame mounted on said base and disposed to rotate about said stubshaft, said motor frame being provided with a plurality of inwardlyextending polar projections and a plurality of field coils forenergizing said polar projections, a reel mounted on said motor frameand disposed to rotate therewith for winding one of said cables thereon,an armature located within said motor frame and disposed to rotaterelative thereto, and a second reel mounted on said armature anddisposed to rotate therewith for winding the other cable thereon.

DAVID E. RENSHAW.

CLARENCE A. ATWELL.

